MIAMI (Ticker) -- Jimmy Jackson scored 23 points off the bench
to lead five players in double figures as the Miami Heat
continued their postseason push with an 90-78 victory over the
Phoenix Suns.

After the Suns started the second half with a 16-4 run to get
within 50-49, Eddie Jones sank a jumper to spark a 13-7 burst
that restored Miami's lead to 63-56 entering the fourth
quarter. Jackson had five points during the burst and capped it
with a 3-pointer.

Jackson made 10-of-13 shots and was one point from matching the
season high he set on December 14 against New Jersey.

Jackson played 34 minutes, slightly more than his average. He
was pressed into extra duty after guard Kendall Gill suffered an
ankle injury in the first half. Left in by coach Pat Riley,
Jackson also grabbed seven rebounds and made all three of his
3-point attempts.

"Jimmy has played the second-most number of minutes other than
Eddie," Riley said. "We want him on the court. He has the
ability to score and shoot and he's been shooting the ball well
from 3-point range. He just shot the ball very well tonight.
Jimmy was the catalyst."

Rod Strickland added 20 points and Jones finished with 16 for
the Heat (29-33), who are one-half game behind Charlotte for the
final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

"We showed a lot of character by withstanding their run,
controlling the game the rest of the way, Jones said. "Games at
home need competition at the highest level. That's what we have
to do every night."

Miami also avenged one of its worst defeats of the season, a
108-74 rout at Phoenix on February 12.

Point guard Stephon Marbury led the Suns with 19 points.
Phoenix has lost four straight road games and is 10th in the
Western Conference, 4 1/2 games behind idle Utah for the final
postseason berth.

The Heat began to pull away in the fourth quarter as Jones sank
a reverse layup and Alonzo Mourning was good with a hook to make
it 75-62 with 6:46 to go.

Mourning battled the flu earlier in the day but collected 13
points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes. He made 5-of-6 shots
in the third quarter, helping Miami outscore Phoenix, 24-15.

"We could have done a lot of things better," Marbury said.
"There are some things that we just didn't do and that put us in
a hole. We didn't make shots at the beginning of the game, then
they would get the rebound, come down and make their shots. They
just kept coming at us."

"Jim Jackson was the X factor for them tonight," added Suns
forward Shawn Marion. "He came off the bench and played real
well. It was our plan tonight to make them shoot from the
outside, but they hit their shots."